User blog:FateAlbane/Golden Orb Nephila (1/3)
About A short story in three chapters that I'm in the middle of translating. Uploading this will be made my priority in FC/OC for the timebeing. This one should come within the week. EDIT (April 16, 2018): This story has been fully translated and uploaded. No hints in regards to the plot of this one. As it's a short story, anything I say about the progression can turn out to be a spoiler in hindsight. Right? Chapter 1 of 3 - To those who starve... (Recommended Song) "Because the field starves, so do ourselves. Do not take a step into that temple, for those who pay no heed to this warning shall be met with certain death. "At least that's what grandpa always told me. And even in this parting letter, there he goes saying it again." The youngster scratched his head, soon letting an expression that was very much a mix of fun in the surface and a sad sense of longing within, made clear by the long sigh that followed his smile. His clothes were no different from those a farmer of humble upbringing. The man he called grandpa was someone he had no blood ties to - adopted as he was at a young age. Taken out of the roads after his family died with a plague no one in the village wanted to risk contracting by accepting him in their house. His foster parent wasn't the one to make up this history either, though he was the very first person the one named Yuji heard speaking of it. As far as the history goes, something of malevolent nature made that place its home, and so it became a dwelling place to evil spirits, the elder would warn whenever. ...But whatever that turned out to be, real or not, evil spirits ranked pretty low on the list of Yuji's concerns at the point this story is taking place. - What does it matter when I'll die either way? A part of him wanted to go there, but another had a firm desire to be obedient and respect that one golden rule of his old man. When someone makes sure you should remember something even when they no longer have a voice to speak of it, you just have to wonder if that is really a territory you want to be threading upon, with or without a chance being given. It was almost like keeping a promise at this point. If not for that, curiosity would have long since pushed Yuji there. ...I speak of curiosity... Hmm. Maybe so, but it would be wrong to say it was only that and nothing else. "You couldn't have chosen a worse time to be kicking the bucket, could you?" It also had quite a lot to do with despair. Life was being rather unforgiving for fieldworkers during these times. The already poor harvests were reaped by a heavy hail. And whatever they had left out of that was all but certain to be taken by the brutal, ever-rising taxes the local government imposed - along with the lives of whosoever happened to try something funny. Like say, a riot. The bodies hanging from trees since the last complaints people tried to make were more than enough to be silencing the rest to an inevitable death sentence. Then again, most would rather extend whatever life they had left until the last moment instead of trying to go against well trained guards and hired swords with all but farming tools and inferior numbers. How can I sum all that up, I wonder? The kind of situation where it was all about choosing how you would suicide. Yes, that sounds rather accurate. Even the crows, perched by the dozens on those dry trees outside – the same ones who just so happened to be natural enemies of people who tended to the fields, mind you – seemed to complain about the lack of food with their harsh “Caw! Caw!’ How quain- - Shut up, freeloaders! – as much as it interrupted my narration, they were interrupted by a pair of stones which flew through the window with the precision of a sniper, scaring the birds more than any of those poorly-made strawmans out there could ever hope to. - Things were already bad enough without you eating our seeds, di--! The birds protested but flew away without looking back, leaving only black feathers to fall behind, blown by the dry winds of the empty fields. Once again, Yuji sighed. At this rate, he would be starving to death before any evil spirit could be bothered by the presence of some random peasant living in a house nearby its so-called cursed shrine. Once again, temptation to go there and see for himself what really was in that place striked. If he went to this "supposedly evil thing" that was hiding in the shadows, at least it would kill him faster than his stomach. This is no joke, by the way: That thing had been “biting” itself in protest for the lack of attention it was going through as of late. You can't really live out of little food with some rice and water while also trying to get anything out of the fields under a blazing sun. Nature can be quite harsh when it wants to. But again, allow me to speak of that shrine. It was an ominous building, that much Yuji wouldn’t deny – the simplest of ways to visualize that? Think of something constructed very much like a tiered tower. A Pagoda, if you will. Almost like a tower and a castle, yet a temple - at the same time! Can you imagine it? One that was left towering in the middle of the deep, dark forest since generations past. In lands of such feudal atmosphere such as these fields, it really stood out. Needless to say, things that stand out but are left abandoned more often than not (if not always) get history itself to bend around them, spinning into legend. With that creepy atmosphere and the actual history behind it (that long ago, its surroundings were a battlefield were many had died), there was more than enough material to fabricate as many stories of the supernatural around it as people could imagine. Some talked of the evil spirit. Others would claim there was an unseen entity that would put away any who dared thread upon its territory. While others would say youkai or even the spirits of those who shed their blood in the aforementioned wars of times past roamed there, killing the living out of grudge when the night was late and their hatred was laid bare. Some would go as far as saying that even around it, you could hear the sounds of their battle, of swords leaving their sheats with a transparent shine as specters reenacted their battle and clashed in a bloodbath, now joined by demons and youkai in their endless conflict, a punishment they were forced to take as the sunk to hell's depths. ...Naturally, anyone who dared be a witness would soon join them in that tragic fate, and so the cycle continues forevermore. Now the reason Yuji didn’t care much about the stories at this point, is that his modest shack of a living place was quite close to the Pagoda of the Warring Spirits ever since he was a child, and nothing that could be any confirmation of something like that ever took place. His house was located far away from civilization. And so He was isolated from the village. He wouldn't expect (nor want, for that matter) a demon bursting through his door, giving him a club and saying: "Join us in arms now or joins my arm your face." but his trail of thought was something more or less like: "I mean. '' ''If a whole army of demons, specters and youkai were going around throwing magic, hellfire and swordplay at each other, you'd think I'd at least hear something, no?" A third sigh, this time as he fell to the bed made of the same straw of those improvised (and by now, pointless) scarecrows. He was a tall one, so part of his feet stood out of the resting place. Most of the furniture he had around wasn't that different from this. Insufficient, is what I mean. He had even sold anything that was worth a few coins to try and live some more in the ever-growing misery. Now his chairs were bags of sand and his bed was straw. The windows, some wood he had cut himself and nailed more or less to some square opening in the walls full of brittle bricks. The cracks in the ceiling and the dust he didn't feel like cleaning at this day gave him the perfect portrait of degeneration - what his life was ammounting to as time passed, ever since his old man had died. The only thing overgrowing around was bamboo. So much of that that Yuji could almost hear the sound of the shishi-odoshi making its characteristic and so soothing sound, when the water would make it go like a see-saw. - Guess the seasons do take everything. Left to me are just the spiders. Maybe the only one harvesting as usual here is time. The old man would brag, his head held high, that this house was here for generations. But look at it now. All that is left in this old shack forgotten by everyone (save for the damn tax collectors) is decadence. It also had some traditional value at this point, he would admit to himself. The house was what? Three... Four hundred years old? He didn't know how to count in generations, but it should be something like that. Too bad tradition isn’t helping anyone’s stomach, especially when they're as empty as the rice sacks that – even if filled by some miracle – would go straight to the governor’s greedy hands. That was more or less the kind of dilemma the farmers down there were going through by now. Don’t eat and die of starvation. Or eat and face punishment, die hanged or something like that. It was said that around those times, rebellion could even lead to people being crucified in the lands of "Greifor-Ysustrata". “True, that tradition talk isn’t worth a damn by now. It won’t help even those little fellas. I'd bet my money they’re starving as much as I am, if I had any.” It really had been a while since he last saw any insect wandering around, though considering how it was hard to even find some green nearby, he wouldn’t be surprised if they were all flying within the forest, or resting in that oh, so much more spacious temple. The only thing he had to deal with at times were snakes and scorpions. But while the spiders he was accostumed to would for the most part stay in their webs minding their own business, the other guests would decide that close to his legs might be a nice place to be taking a nap. "And screw me if I happen to wake them up before breakfast." So the “little fellas” he talked about were the owners of those dusty, old spider webs and nothing else. All empty of prey, they seemed more or less like an allegory to his own situation. Just waiting there for food that would never come… That is, until Death knocked at the door instead. With her pale hair, black clothes and a scythe to the face. Because, you know; if anything, she was the one never facing any shortage of things to harvest. In a sense, Yuji hated the concept more for that than because he knew it would soon be coming for him. At least then he would tell the reaper a thing or two about how Life was more scary than her in the long run. Some of the spiders had left by now, though. Yuji assumed they had probably moved in search of some place with more unsuspecting food in the menu. Speaking of which, out of the arachnids that would creep a lot of people out, there was this golden orb weaver he would watch over every day. Precisely because of that, he soon noticed that it wasn’t having any luck with food either. Did you know that Golden Orb weavers have food storage techniques? We call those "caches", and they are made when they have an abundance of prey, in a preparation for scarce times when there really aren't any around. The fact that spiders were moving away and that even this one had no “silk storage” to be seen in its web was more than enough of an indicator that Yuji was right, even if he didn’t know any of this stuff. - Well, we don’t need to starve together. That particular spider’s “lineage” – if we can put it like that – had been there ever since he was adopted: Back then, a child starving as much as he was right now. And this Yuji, I must tell you he was a good person. Knowing full well how pitiful his own situation was, he took a look around the house, and thought about “all those others”, having to partake of the same fate. - Not much in life that beats waiting for death by starvation when it comes to being “Meh”. Since I have nothing else to do… Might as well help you guys out. *** What would you call someone who legitimately goes out of their house and into the forest to catch insects for spiders as the sun is just setting? Insane? Naive? Or just a plain old fool? If you ask me, I’d tell you that when I mentioned despair, I was being quite frank. Textbook definition frank. There was something inside that person that was internally grating. He could almost hear the edge of a guillotine grinding in the distance and leaving sparks, just waiting for his head to be in place before it could fall. But not everything was made of bad feelings. Something else inside felt like he would regret this day if he didn’t do anything at all. In the morning of tomorrow, the tax collectors would come and he barely had a few grains of rice and a small portion of wheat with him. In other words, today was more or less the last day of his life. Of that particular Orb Weaver, he had grown fond of as he lived this - now unfortunate - life. Maybe he got that impression because it felt like the same spider had always been there, but it almost looked like a living memento of his late parent. If he let that one starve or leave too, then he would die feeling like he never really gave anything in return to those who gave him a place to call home. To those who lived in that house before he came along. Surely, the original Orb Weaver had to be long dead, but that was still the offspring of the offspring of its… Something like that. In a sense, and at the state his mind was by now, that spider was adopted by his old man as much as Yuji himself was. That youngster never did anything he could really be proud of to help the one who adopted him, in all those years. So he would at least do something for that small life he could actually help, as limited as he was. Instead of cursing his fate or waiting for Death's embrace, he would leave a token of appreciation. ...But of course, the effort of doing so was languishing to someone who, for a while now, barely had anything to go along with a cup of water when it came to the matter of catching a break. His skin was covered with scratches, itchy leaves got in his way. It was a good thing he was very much used to these parts, because walking around with boots and a candle lantern in one hand is by no means a guarantee that insects are everything you will find. He didn't find any of the demons or youkai people were talking about, but he sure had to run quite a bit from his old acquaintances the snakes. And that nice little feeling that there may be something like a jaguar out there starving as much as you are isn't a funny one either. *** (Recommended Song) When he returned, it was already late at night, and a well closed bottle in his hands covered the poor insects who happened to be at the wrong leaves at the right time. The otherwise boring - and at this point, outright risky - task was the only thing that got his mind away from the dwindling time he had left before facing reality. But to his eyes, it was worth the effort. Unlike him, those spiders were now thriving with a reward that was falling from the heavens even as they did nothing but wait through this crisis. Even then, it was easy to see that the same Orb Weaver who made him do this in the first place was clearly the most favored out of them. The poor insects helplessly struggled in the webs, capable of nothing but waiting for death. "Capable of nothing but waiting for death." These words sounded oddly familiar. In a sense – the thought occurred to him – Yuji felt like what he just did exchanged the fates of those arachnids with whatever unfortunate cricket, cicada or mosquito he happened to throw in their general direction. How unfair life could be - that even he, in that worthless condition, could in a single night change which of those little ones would live and die. It felt like a web in itself. An inescapable one, that all living beings were subject to, from the moment they were born. A fourth sigh, and he finally let himself fall to the bed yet again, having watched as his “fellow tenants” made no ceremonies in accepting the gift. - I was so annoyed at those crows that (if I had the means to) I might have tried to get some of them, too. Jokes aside, this was the first, but might as well be the last day I get to pull this kind of thing for you lot. I’m definitely paying some price I have nothing to pay with by tomorrow, so my life it will be. *** (Recommended theme song) - Now, now. We wouldn’t like that to happen, now would we? … …What… That single word came to his mind as the voice seemed to be heard. Clearly. And directly in his brain. For the voice had no owner. It was weak, yet loud. A creepy atmosphere was given in the pronunciation, and the feeling was no different from that of something crawling on his back, needle fingers piercing his shoulders as a chill ran down his spine like hand sliding fast through a cold piano. Physically and mentally exhausted as he was, his natural reaction was to think of this as the fruit of weary imagination playing a trick on his mind who sent that back to his ears. But that thought was soon washed away by the waves of reality, as he heard the voice one more time, with a simple yet certain call. - Over here. – it spoke. And added, by the end of a pause, as if to further ascertain its presence – I mean you no harm at this moment, my esteemed benefactor. In fact, I could not do so if I wanted to. It was definitely there. In the web that Yuji just had looked at a few moments ago, there was now something that resembled an arrow formation being made, pointing towards its owner. Now the catch is that it was being knitted by itself. The spider didn’t really move an inch from where it was. - The spider… SPOKE!? - *sigh* Why am I surprised at this day and age. The Master did say this always happens with you humans… Yes, your ears do not deceive, I have spoken. And if you would be willing to settle down and listen, I would gladly share with you my secret. Know that I have means to guide you! - Guide… Me? What even…? Ooooh, now I get it. I get that WHAT THE HELL bit me back there in the forest? Or am I just hallucinating now? Yeah... You know, they say that's what happens when you starve for too long! - Be quiet and pay heed, as a spider does not much speak. I, am Golden Orb Nephila. My time in this world now approaches four centuries. I was not allowed to leave this place, for a spell exists here, yet I would perish this very night if not for your kindness. Now, I have enough prey to live through what is left of my life as a spider. Yuji was too busy pinching his cheeks as hard as he could to fully pay attention to a talking spider. There were people out there scared of spiders suddenly growing wings? That was nothing. Try spiders who talk and have remote web making and army coordination, as the web this one made was spreading itself around and gathering all others in the same place, in a formation that was slowly but certainly making it seem like a single arachnid, the size of a dog. And if they still thought wings would be worse, the spider, apparently in an effort to make it clear that this was no dream, seemed to suddenly decide that its web didn't need anything to anchor itself in. Its threads were being affixed... To the air. - I have decided to give you an appointment, as a reward. What I want, my good "sibling", is for you to meet one who can listen to your silent plea just as you have listened to mine. - I can't believe this... This... Is too much... Being called a brother by a spider the size of a dog didn't help their communication nearly as much as Nephila had hoped it would, so the spider soon reverted to its previous manner of adressing that person. - Believing it or not is your decision to make, my esteemed benefactor. About as much as the choice of going there or staying here until the moon goes down and the sun rises for your end. Aaaall up to you ~ - No no no, this isn't real. Wake up, Yuji. This can't be real. I know! I'll leave this house, and when I come back, everything will be back to norm-OH MY GOD, I'M STUCKWHYGETTHISOUTOFMEAAAAUUUWWWGGGH!! The spider let out a long sigh, as it returned to its original shape and waited for the "would be" prey to settle down a little. As long as it took less than an hour or two... She could probably indulge in that reaction. - Very well, spiders are well known for their patience. I'm in no rush to prove this to you as reality, my good "sibling"... ...The words that followed seemed more like a warning, or a reflection made more towards itself than to the person it was talking to. As if to an extent, the spider regretted that it had come to this. "But know that, while it may be your salvation and the one payment I can offer to you, I still do not recommend that you take this invitation. For in that shrine… You will meet. Not with death, as the late lord has warned you. But with my Master, who knows It as an equal. To those who Starve... '' She always will answer. ''...But truth be told, when it comes to spiders... '' It's best if they do not take notice of you.'' TO BE CONTINUED. Category:Blog posts